Improving Prison Safety: Breaking the Code of Silence

A system permeated by a code of silence reinforces negative behaviors in inmates, ultimately increasing the risk to staff. As the former Massachusetts Secretary of Public Safety, Edward A. Flynn, is keen on saying, “If nothing else, inmates must leave our custody with a belief that there is moral order in their world. If they leave our care and control believing that rules and regulations do not mean what they say they mean, that rules and regulations can be applied arbitrarily or capriciously or for personal interest, then we will fail society, we will fail them, and we will unleash people more dangerous than when they went in.” We know that many offenders go through life believing that rules and laws do not apply to them. If the system in which they are incarcerated lacks integrity and moral order their notions regarding law and order are reinforced. Corrections staff should be the very best people inmates encounter, as we may be the first individuals they are exposed to who do respect rules and laws. We should be role models of positive behavior. If staff members do not follow the rules there is no hope for intervention or for changing inmate behavior in the long term. If staff members are not held accountable we demonstrate that there is no consequence for bad behavior

Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Approaches Used in Development of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Max Launch Abort System

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Engineering and Safety Center was chartered to develop an alternate launch abort system (LAS) as risk mitigation for the Orion Project. Its successful flight test provided data for the design of future LAS vehicles. Design of the flight test vehicle (FTV) and pad abort trajectory relied heavily on modeling and simulation including computational fluid dynamics for vehicle aero modeling, 6-degree-of-freedom kinematics models for flight trajectory modeling, and 3-degree-of-freedom kinematics models for parachute force modeling. This paper highlights the simulation techniques and the interaction between the aerodynamics, flight mechanics, and aerodynamic decelerator disciplines during development of the Max Launch Abort System FTV

Prophylactic Bacteriophage Administration More Effective than Post-infection Administration in Reducing Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis Shedding in Quail

Infections caused by Salmonella bacteria, often through poultry products, are a serious public health issue. Because of drawbacks associated with antibiotic prophylaxis, alternative treatments are sought. Bacterial viruses (bacteriophages) may provide an effective alternative, but concerns remain with respect to bacteriophage stability and effectiveness. To this end, we assessed the stability of a novel bacteriophage isolated from poultry excreta, siphovirus PSE, and its effectiveness in reducing Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis colonization in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, we sought to determine how the timing (prophylactic or therapeutic) and route (oral gavage or vent lip) of PSE administration impacted its effectiveness. Here we report that significant quantities of viable PSE bacteriophages were recovered following exposure to high and low pH, high temperatures, and bile salts, testifying to its ability to survive extreme conditions. In addition, we found that ileal lactic acid bacteria and Streptococcus spp. counts increased, but colibacilli and total aerobe counts decreased, in quail receiving phage PSE through both oral gavage and vent lip routes. In other experiments, we assessed the efficiency of PSE administration, in both prophylactic and therapeutic contexts, via either oral gavage or vent lip administration, on S. Enteritidis colonization of quail cecal tonsils. Our results demonstrate that administration of PSE as a preventive agent could reduce the S. Enteritidis colonization more effectively than post-challenge administration. Furthermore, oral administration of PSE phage is a more effective prophylactic tool for reduction of S. Enteritidis shedding in poultry than is vent lip administration

Young people's conceptualizations of the nature of cyberbullying: A systematic review and synthesis of qualitative research

© 2020 Elsevier Ltd Introduction: Cyberbullying is a serious public health problem facing young people. Adults do not have first-hand experience of being immersed in social media in their youth and this necessitates the inclusion of youth voice in efforts to understand and address cyberbullying. This study aimed to synthesize qualitative studies which had explored young people's conceptualizations of the nature of cyberbullying, with a view to informing conceptual and intervention development. Methods: A systematic review and meta-ethnographic synthesis of qualitative studies was conducted. Nine databases were searched from inception to July 2018. The Critical Appraisal Skills Program assessment tool was used to appraise the quality of included studies. Results: Of 4872 unique records identified, 79 were reviewed in detail and 13 studies comprising 753 young people from 12 countries were included. Five key concepts were identified: Intent, Repetition, Accessibility, Anonymity and Barriers to Disclosure. A “line of argument” illustrating young people's conceptualization of cyberbullying was developed. Conclusion: The significance of information and communication technology in young people's lives, and the complexity of the cyber world in which they connect, must be recognized in conceptualizations of cyebrbullying. The distinctive features of cyberbullying identified in young people's characterization can be used to inform bottom-up research and intervention efforts.This research was funded by the Health Research Board through the SPHeRE Programme SPHeRE/2013/

Coping with multiple enemies : pairwise interactions do not predict evolutionary change in complex multitrophic communities

Predicting the ecological and evolutionary trajectories of populations in multispecies communities is one of the fundamental challenges in ecology. Many of these predictions are made by scaling patterns observed from pairwise interactions. Here, we show that the coupling of ecological and evolutionary outcomes is likely to be weaker in increasingly complex communities due to greater chance of life-history trait correlations. Using model microbial communities comprising a focal bacterial species (Bacillus subtilis), a bacterial competitor, protist predator and phage parasite, we found that increasing the number of enemies in a community had an overall negative effect on B. subtilis population growth. However, only the competitor imposed direct selection for B. subtilis trait evolution in pairwise cultures and this effect was weakened in the presence of other antagonists that had a negative effect on the competitor. In contrast, adaptation to parasites was driven indirectly by correlated selection where competitors had a positive and predators a negative effect. For all measured traits, selection in pairwise communities was a poor predictor of B. subtilis evolution in more complex communities. Together, our results suggest that coupling of ecological and evolutionary outcomes is interaction-specific and weakly coupled in more complex communities. We conclude that understanding 2 the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms underpinning trait correlations is crucial to predict species response to global change in complex microbial communitie

Development of a continuous process for α-thio-β-chloroacrylamide synthesis with enhanced control of a cascade transformation

A continuous process strategy has been developed for the preparation of α-thio-β chloroacrylamides, a class of highly versatile synthetic intermediates. Flow platforms to generate the α-chloroamide and α-thioamide precursors were successfully adopted, progressing from the previously employed batch chemistry, and in both instances afford a readily scalable methodology. The implementation of the key α-thio-β-chloroacrylamide casade as a continuous flow reaction on a multi-gram scale is described, while the tuneable nature of the cascade, facilitated by continuous processing, is highlighted by selective generation of established intermediates and byproducts

Metaverse beyond the hype: Multidisciplinary perspectives on emerging challenges, opportunities, and agenda for research, practice and policy

The metaverse has the potential to extend the physical world using augmented and virtual reality technologies allowing users to seamlessly interact within real and simulated environments using avatars and holograms. Virtual environments and immersive games (such as, Second Life, Fortnite, Roblox and VRChat) have been described as antecedents of the metaverse and offer some insight to the potential socio-economic impact of a fully functional persistent cross platform metaverse. Separating the hype and “meta…” rebranding from current reality is difficult, as “big tech” paints a picture of the transformative nature of the metaverse and how it will positively impact people in their work, leisure, and social interaction. The potential impact on the way we conduct business, interact with brands and others, and develop shared experiences is likely to be transformational as the distinct lines between physical and digital are likely to be somewhat blurred from current perceptions. However, although the technology and infrastructure does not yet exist to allow the development of new immersive virtual worlds at scale - one that our avatars could transcend across platforms, researchers are increasingly examining the transformative impact of the metaverse. Impacted sectors include marketing, education, healthcare as well as societal effects relating to social interaction factors from widespread adoption, and issues relating to trust, privacy, bias, disinformation, application of law as well as psychological aspects linked to addiction and impact on vulnerable people. This study examines these topics in detail by combining the informed narrative and multi-perspective approach from experts with varied disciplinary backgrounds on many aspects of the metaverse and its transformational impact. The paper concludes by proposing a future research agenda that is valuable for researchers, professionals and policy makers alike

Recognition and blocking of innate immunity cells by Candida albicans chitin

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Topological Requirements and Signaling Properties of T Cell–activating, Anti-CD28 Antibody Superagonists

Full activation of naive T cells requires both engagement of the T cell antigen receptor (TCR; signal 1) and costimulatory signaling by CD28 (signal 2). We previously identified two types of rat CD28-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs): “conventional,” TCR signaling–dependent costimulatory mAbs and “superagonistic” mAbs capable of inducing the full activation of primary resting T cells in the absence of TCR ligation both in vitro and in vivo. Using chimeric rat/mouse CD28 molecules, we show that the superagonists bind exclusively to the laterally exposed C′′D loop of the immunoglobulin-like domain of CD28 whereas conventional, costimulatory mAbs recognize an epitope close to the binding site for the natural CD80/CD86 ligands. Unexpectedly, the C′′D loop reactivity of a panel of new antibodies raised against human CD28 could be predicted solely on the basis of their superagonistic properties. Moreover, mouse CD28 molecules engineered to express the rat or human C′′D loop sequences activated T cell hybridomas without TCR ligation when cross-linked by superagonistic mAbs. Finally, biochemical analysis revealed that superagonistic CD28 signaling activates the nuclear factor κB pathway without inducing phosphorylation of either TCRζ or ZAP70. Our findings indicate that the topologically constrained interactions of anti-CD28 superagonists bypass the requirement for signal 1 in T cell activation. Antibodies with this property may prove useful for the development of T cell stimulatory drugs